A standardized permafrost ground temperature collection for Canada 2025
Abstract
Abstract. Ground temperature is an essential variable for monitoring the thermal state of permafrost, developing models, and conducting fundamental research. However, the usability of GT data in Canada is often hampered by inconsistent file formats, a lack of metadata standardization between organizations, and varied temporal resolutions. This fragmentation has prevented the development of a comprehensive benchmark dataset, leaving researchers reliant on small, ad-hoc data subsets for model evaluation. To address this gap, we present a new, standardized collection of ground temperature (GT) and ground surface temperature (GST) data from across Canada, designed to serve as a benchmark for synthesis and model evaluation. The collection integrates data from 29 published datasets and 13 unpublished contributions, encompassing 427 GT and 491 GST sites across British Columbia, Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Québec, and Yukon. All included time series feature at least one year of measurements at daily resolution. We performed quality control and standardization using tempcf — a newly-developed python software tool — to document and remove anomalies, outliers, and drilling disturbances. Then we aggregated sub-daily data to daily means. The dataset is standardized into NetCDF files adhering to CF, ACDD, and IOOS metadata standards as well as a compatible permafrost-specific metadata profile. Data are provided as both individual NetCDF files and text files. They are fully accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18022925 (Meier-Legault et al., 2025) and via an ERDDAP server (data.permafrostnet.ca/erddap), following FAIR principles. Several limitations remain, including time zone uncertainty in some datasets, and the lack of a standardized methodology for harmonizing site description metadata. Nevertheless, this collection improves the accessibility and usability of Canadian ground temperature data for national-scale permafrost research.
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Authors: Olivia Meier-Legault, Nicholas Brown, Larry Adjun, Michel Allard, Alejandro Alvarez, Maude Auclair, Alexandre Bevington, Samuel Bilodeau, William Cable, Olivia Carpino, A Castagner, Lin Chen, Alexandre Chiasson, Ryan Connon, Stéphanie Coulombe, Jeffrey Crompton, Derek Cronmiller, Gautier Davesne, Mason Dominico, Marc-André Ducharme, Timothy Ensom, Louise Farquharson, Vanessa N. Foord, Daniel Fortier, Philippe Fortier, Duane G. Froese, Samuel Gagnon, Francis Gauthier, Marten Geertsema, E. Godin, Galina Jonat, Steven V. Kokelj, Michelle Landry, Antoni Lewkowicz, Panya Lipovsky, Emmanual L’Hérault, Hannah Macdonell, Lancelot Massé, Dmitry J. Nicolsky, Moya Painter, Leesee Papatsie, Victor Pozsgay, William Quinton, V. E. Romanovsky, Ashley C. A. Rudy, Denis Sarrazin, Emilie Stewart-Jones, Donald Walker, Thomas Wright, Joseph M Young, Stephan Gruber
Institutions: University of Alberta, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Université de Montréal, Carleton University, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Ottawa, Université Laval, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Geological Survey of Canada, Government of Canada, University of Northern British Columbia, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Trent University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Center for Northern Studies, Government of Nunavut, WSP (Canada), Ministry of Forests, Government of Northwest Territories, Polar Knowledge Canada, Yukon Geological Survey, Parks Canada